CodeParkThese four terms describe how much of the stack the provider runs for you.
- IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) gives you virtual machines, networks and disks. You manage the OS and everything above it. EC2 is the classic example.
- PaaS (Platform as a Service) runs the platform for you. You deploy an application, and the provider handles the servers and scaling. Examples are Elastic Beanstalk, or ECS on Fargate for containers.
- FaaS (Function as a Service) runs single functions when an event happens. It bills per call (invocation) and per run time (duration). Lambda is the example.
- SaaS (Software as a Service) is a finished product that you just use. Examples are Amazon WorkMail, or a third-party service like a hosted CRM.
As you move down this list, you manage less and ship faster. But you give up control over the runtime, and you must accept the platform's limits.
- IaaS gives you VMs and networks, and you manage the OS. EC2 is an example.
- PaaS lets you deploy apps while the platform runs the servers. Elastic Beanstalk and Fargate are examples.
- FaaS runs functions on events and bills you per use. Lambda is an example.
- SaaS is a finished application that you just use.
- Higher levels give you less control but less operations work.
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